


You're Home, Frank

by Emeli_Thorne



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Maria and Frank are the ultimate otp, Maria tries to fight Frank's demons, implied PTSD, implied depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 11:37:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14768855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeli_Thorne/pseuds/Emeli_Thorne
Summary: Frank is finally home after his tour but things at home are not so great. Maria tries to arrange a nice night for the two of them, but their day takes a bad turn. They are forced to face Frank's demons and Maria's own fears.





	You're Home, Frank

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt by anonymous: Frank and Maria finally have some alone time because the kids are at a sleepover
> 
> I'm terribly sorry, nonnie, this turned out darker than I wanted :( Apparently, angst and Frank are synonymous in my mind. However, I tried to make it up to you in the last part of this fic so I hope you can forgive me.
> 
> I love writing Frank and exploring his psyche pre-Punisher hence why this fic ended up being... well, this.
> 
> Also, I totally have no idea the age difference between Lisa and Frankie so I just guessed.

It has been a week since he came back, but to Frank it feels like he came home just yesterday.

He can’t quite get used to the house, the way that furniture is arranged, the noise that the coffeemaker makes for some reason, nor the yelling and giggles of his kids running around while Maria yells for them to be quieter because “daddy’s tired and needs to rest”.

To seven-year-old Lisa and four-year-old Frank jr. it makes no sense for their dad to be so tired when all he’s been doing since coming home is sleep and occasionally watch whichever game is on TV.

Maria notices how jumpy Frank gets when he hears Frankie’s toy gun shoot blanks in the backyard, his whole stance changing in milliseconds from a father lounging on a couch to a revenant soldier ready to fight. It hurts her soul to see those shadows under his brown eyes, that haunted look that he tries but fails to hide from her in the rare moments they are alone.

Frank is neither here nor there it seems, because the blank expression he often gives her when she asks him something lets her know she might be losing her husband and she doesn’t even know to what.

In an effort to ease things a bit for him and give them some time for themselves, Maria arranges sleepovers for the kids, much to their enjoyment. Lisa is over the moon because this will be her second sleepover and Frankie doesn’t really care as long as he can bring his favourite toy truck with him.

Frank insists on accompanying her and the kids under the guise of taking a walk though Maria doesn’t let herself be fooled. He's extra vigilant as they are walking down the main street of their neighbourhood, eyes darting from left to right on the lookout for any threat.

The kids are walking in front of them, arguing over something but Maria can't quiet pay attention to that when all her senses are focused on her husband.

Frank’s holding her hand firmly in his, and when she looks up at him he gives her a barely noticeable smile that doesn't even reach his eyes. Smiling back, Maria holds back tears because she doesn’t want to worry Frank or the kids, as much as this ever growing change in her husband is ripping her apart.

As they drop the kids off at their friends’ houses, the parents greet Frank and her, inquiring about when he came back and for how long and thanking him for his service. _There’s that forced smile again_ , Maria thinks when she glances at her husband as his hold on her hand tightens even more that she’s afraid he might break her fingers.

When the doors close and they are on their way back, Maria subtly extracts her hand from his, massaging it with her other hand to ease the pain Frank unwittingly inflicted.

Frank takes one look at her and her hand that bears imprints of his rough fingers, but it is enough for shame to fill his body as his eyes meet hers and without a word, he retreats a few steps to his right so that he is in no way touching her again. Maria mouths to say something but Frank’s bowed his head, obviously avoiding any kind of interaction.

It hurts her, her own pain and his, as unfamiliar as she is with it. Anything she wanted to say dies in her throat and she trains her gaze on the mailboxes by the sidewalk, swallowing back her tears. Again.

A few moments of awkward and uncomfortable silence is broken by a loud screeching sound of car tires and something popping and suddenly Frank is yelling ‘down!’ and pushing her on the ground, his body covering hers from head to toe as she screams in confusion and fear, panic rising in her. She can’t feel her arms or her legs, her whole body immediately going numb.

“Fra-Frank! Frank, wh-what’s happening?”

It seems like forever before Frank rolls off her and she’s finally able to move, her body shaking in shock, her mind fuzzy because she doesn’t understand what happened.

Frank’s hands on her arms as he gently helps her to her feet ground Maria in the moment just as a ‘I’m sorry, baby’ drops from his lips, along with a tear that rolls down his cheek and falls on his shirt. Maria’s mind is still hazy as she tries to grapple the scene before her that she almost misses it.

A few people have rushed out of their houses and are now looking at the two of them like they were some kind of aliens. The car that was passing by them has stopped in the middle of the street, the driver, all red in the face, yelling something that try as she may, Maria can’t hear.

*      *       *       *      *    

Her whole body is still shaking when they enter their home, their whole walk back completely erased from her memory.

Frank sits her on the couch and leaves, only to return with a glass of water. He kneels in front of her, hands resting on her knees as she gulps down the cold liquid, searching for a way to ask Frank, calmly, what the fuck just happened.

“Maria, baby. I’m- I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare ya like that.” Frank’s lips tremble as he apologises, his eyes brimming with tears.

Maria’s heart is pounding so hard she can hear it in her head and her breathing is barely under control.

Looking at Frank, at this man kneeling before her hunched, ashamed, and ready to give up shakes her from the shock she’s been in enough for her to gather some of her scattered wits.

Leaving the glass on the coffee table, Maria tentatively takes Frank’s hands in hers and notes it’s the first time she has held them, really held them, since he came back.

Her eyes follow the lines of his palms when she turns his hands over, counts the calluses on his fingers, and memorises all the little scars that made his hands different than those of a man she married.

“I-I thought I heard a gun. I-I wanted... I was scared for you.”

His voice breaks and tears free themselves just as he leans his forehead on Maria’s knees and she cups the back of his head, lips pressed against the crown of his head.

“Oh, Frank. You’re home, baby. You’re home and you don’t have to be scared for me. We’re safe, Frank. You’re safe,” Maria tells him caressing his head, repeats it over and over again until it’s seared into his mind and hers, until she can’t hear her husband cry anymore, until his shaking body finally settles, until her own tears dry out and all that’s left is their laboured breathing and occasional sobs.

Frank doesn’t tell her what he’s seen overseas, doesn’t tell her what he himself has done, what he’s seen others do, and Maria knows better than to ask him.

Frank has his demons and likes to keep them locked inside, far away from her, from their kids and their life.

They are big and ugly and scary, just like the monsters from those bedtime stories parents read to their kids.

Frank likes to keep them locked inside until he goes back _there_ , until he unleashes them on their country’s enemies and obliterates them, one by one.

Until then, they are locked inside, lurking behind those shadows in Frank’s dark eyes, hidden behind Frank’s trembling hands and the hollow expressions of his face.

“I’m so sorry, Maria. I’m so sorry.”

Lifting his chin, Maria looks him straight in the eyes, waits a moment until she’s sure Frank’s is watching her before she assures him, again, that they are all safe.

Taking his hand then, Maria leads him upstairs to their bedroom though her legs are wobbly and her steps unsure. When she closes the door behind them, her confidence surges at the sight of her husband looking at her as if she was his candle in the dark and that small smile that is so Frank and that this time, does reach his eyes.

They don’t say another word that night.

Not one as Frank presses kisses into her neck and shoulders and simultaneously unzips her dress.

Not one as Maria unbuckles his belt and pushes down his pants, only sighing when his teeth graze her throat.

Not one as she climbs on top of him on _their_ bed, in _their_ bedroom, and Frank’s rough, calloused hands roam her body, grabbing onto every curve she has with tenderness she ached for with all her being.

Not one as he thrusts into her for the first time since he came back home and Maria finally feels complete.

Not one as they both cry again that night, locked in each other’s embrace and Maria comforts him and herself.

 _You’re home, Frank, You’re finally home, baby. We’re finally together_ , is all Maria can think about but it never occurs to her to say it out loud for fear of ruining the moment, of breaking this sweet spell that befell them after being apart for more than a year.

*        *        *       *        *

In the morning, it doesn’t even cross her mind to leave their bed. Instead, she snuggles closer to her husband as his strong arms hold her and his warm body reminds her he’s really with her.

Smiling as she kisses his shoulder briefly, Maria tucks her head under Frank’s chin and falls back asleep with Frank’s hand splayed on the small of her back.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments, they are the only thing letting me know my fics have readers. Feedback is my lifeline :D
> 
> find me on tumblr at lightblindingme


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